


It's My Turn To Ask

by isnt_that_wizard



Series: Lightwood-Bane Proposals [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: After the Episode, Boys In Love, Cheesy, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Post season 3a, everything is okay and happy, magnus has his magic back, switches from alecs pov in the beginning to magnus pov for the end, this is just cheesy and sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 02:34:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17235719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isnt_that_wizard/pseuds/isnt_that_wizard
Summary: One year ago, Alec asked Magnus if he could move in. Then the battle with Lilith and the Owl came to a head and Alec and Magnus came close to losing everything, including each other. But a year later, the dust has settled. Magnus has his magic, Alec has his life and his parabati, and they're happy. This time around, it's Magnus' turn to ask Alec to move in.





	It's My Turn To Ask

  When Alec entered the loft that evening, it was to the dull sound of things being thrown around, and the clattering of what seemed to be plastic. Depositing his bow and blade by the rack Magnus had put by the door, Alec called out.

 

"Magnus?"

 

"In here, darling!" replied the muffled voice of his boyfriend.

 

  Confused, Alec followed the sound and found himself in the bedroom. The room looked a mess. The bed was covered and the floor was littered with things.

 

"Mag-"

 

  Alec found himself cutoff as a sweater hit him in the face. He pulled it off, simply becoming more confused. Walking more into the room, he looked to see his boyfriend standing near the back of the walk-in closet. Empty hangers littered the floor as well as the racks, and it was then that Alec realized the mess on the floor and bed was clothes. As Alec looked, he saw that maybe one third of the closet was empty, and Magnus was still going.

 

"Magnus, what the hell are you doing?" Alec said, coming into the closet and resting a hand on Magnus' shoulder.

 

  His boyfriend turned to him with a smile and kissed him sweetly. Then he pulled away and turned right back to the clothes. He seemed to be going through his abundance of blazers.

 

"What does it look like? I'm going through my clothes."

 

"Well, yeah, Magnus, I see that. I meant why, babe."

 

  Magnus tosses another blazer towards the door, and says, "The closet is too full."

 

"Too full?"

 

"Yes, darling. There's too much of my stuff in here, so I'm cleaning."

 

  Alec wasn't sure how to respond. It was expected that Magnus would redecorate, but never did he throw stuff out or empty things.

 

"So. . . how much are you getting rid of here?"

 

"About half of it," Magnus responded casually.

 

  Alec felt his heart skip a little.

 

"Half?"

 

"Yes, I did the same with the dressers. That's what's on the bed."

 

  Alec just stood there. Magnus was cleaning out half of all his clothes? It couldn't mean. . . Alec let out a breath and took a step closer to Magnus. Magnus leaned back into him as be continued sorting and throwing and flipping. Alec wrapped an arm around Magnus' waist and simply watched him work. After a few minutes of quiet, him shuffling along behind Magnus as he moved, Alec spoke up.

 

"You're gonna clean this all up, right?"

 

  Magnus huffed a laugh and Alec could see him smiling out of the corner of his eye as he rested his head on Magnus' shoulder.

 

"Yes, Alexander, I'll clean it. It won't exactly take very long, will it? All I have to do is snap my fingers."

 

  At that, all Alec could do was smile. It had been roughly a year since the fight with Lilith and the Owl. Everything had seemed awful for a while. Alec was recovering, Jace was grieving and recovering as well, and Magnus. . . Magnus had been struggling, devastation filling his every step, his eyes so much duller than ever. So Alec dedicated his time to trying to put that light back in his eyes. It took him six months before he figured out how to get Magnus his magic back.

 

  It was the happiest day he'd ever seen Magnus have. Alec loved Magnus more than anyone he had ever known. He would have done anything to save Magnus fron the hurt and depression of the loss he'd faced for him. He knew what it meant, of course; Magnus would get his immortality back and it would be a conversation to have. It wasn't something either of them ever wanted to deal with, but at the end of it, if Alec had his way, he wouldn't be leaving Magnus anytime soon.

 

  Alec tightened his hold on his boyfriend's waist and he realized that they had stood there silently for at least a minute and Magnus had stilled, no longer flipping through the clothes.

 

"Are you okay, darling?"

 

"Yeah, I was just thinking."

 

"About?"

 

"You," Alec replied, shrugging.

 

  Magnus smiled, turning his head to kiss Alec's temple.

 

"Are you hungry, Alexander? Let's go get some dinner."

 

  Alec let Magnus take his hand and pull him to the kitchen. During his time without magic, Magnus had taken to cooking, finding it a calming exercise. Since having it back, Magnus would still take time to make dinner about three times a week rather than summoning or a portal. While he did, Alec would either help by cutting vegetables, setting the table, or whatever else Magnus needed from him, or he would keep Magnus company, standing at the open counter space and doing whatever work he'd had to bring home from the Institute. Today, however, Alec found his usual counter space occupied.

 

"Is that a coffee maker?" Alec asked, confusion lacing his voice once again.

 

  Magnus nodded, "I thought you could use it for mornings when you have to wake up before me and I can't summon coffee from that place in Italy you liked so much."

 

  Magnus says it so casually, so lightly, that Alec isn't sure how to answer. It was such a simple gesture, and yet to Alec, it was so big. To Alec, it meant that Magnus was expecting him for mornings a lot more than now's usual. That Magnus was adding things to his home specifically for Alec.

 

  Over the course of dinner and clean up, he noticed more little things as he looked around the loft. Where he would normally dump his coat simply on top of Magnus', there was now a second hook. Picture frames filled with moments captured during date nights or candids Izzy sent them littered the bookshelves. The colors of the furniture had begun changing to some of his favorites, deep navys and an almost butterscotch that looked like Magnus' eyes. The rack for his weapons had been added a week ago. He knew that when be entered Magnus' study, the desk had been shifted and bookshelves moved to allow more space. Space that could fit another desk. The emotions that came with the realization washed over him, so hard he could feel his breath being taken away.

 

  Alec stood in the kitchen, watching as Magnus whistled to himself and dried dishes Alec had just finished washing. As he stood there, watching the man he loved, it took a minute for Alec to find his voice again. 

 

"Magnus." 

 

  Alec knew his voice was heavy, laced with the happiness, choking up and breaking a little. Magnus stopped and turned to him. He raised an eyebrow, almost in concern, as he walked closer Alec.

 

"What is it, Alexander?"

 

  Alec wasn't sure he could from the right words. His hands felt almost heavy at his side, but he wasn't quite confident in what to do with them.

 

"Are you. . . I mean, with the closet and the coffee maker. . . Are you asking me. . . asking me to. . ." Alec trailed off, for whatever reason, he couldn't seem to properly form the words.

 

"Asking you what, Alexander?" Magnus replied, feigning confusion. But all it took was Alec one glance at the gleam in his boyfriend's eye, the slight up-ends of his mouth, for Alec to know that Magnus knew exactly what he was trying to say, knew exactly what he was talking about.

 

  Alec took the few steps forward and hugged Magnus to him. He felt the warlock return the embrace.

 

"Yes," Alec whispered. He felt Magnus let out a huff of laughter.

 

"Yes?"

 

"Yes," Alec repeated.

 

"I haven't asked you anything, darling."

 

  Alec could tell by the tone of his voice that at this point, his boyfriend was simply teasing him. Alec pulled out of the hug halfway, so that they were still wrapped in each other's arms, but could see each other's faces.

 

"You're asking me to move in, aren't you?" Alec asked with a smile.

 

  Alec couldn't quite read the look on Magnus' face, but nothing about it told him that he had been wrong in his assumptions.

 

"Well," Magnus began, "I was thinking about it. But then this silly Shadowhunter had to go and ruin it all."

 

"Ruin it? What do you mean?"

 

  Magnus gave a small, teasing smile. "I had this whole speech and everything planned out. My boyfriend is just too smart for his own good however, and skipped right to the end."

 

  Alec felt his heart melt a little bit. Magnus had planned him a speech.

 

"I want to hear it."

 

"Well, I don't see much point now. Who needs the journey when you've already reached the destination?"

 

  He knew Magnus was playing with him.

 

"Please, Magnus?"

 

His boyfriend rolled his eyes and smiled. "Alright, darling. But you must forget this whole conversation and no interruptions."

 

  Alec felt his smile grow wide as he nodded. He leaned in the peck Magnus' lips with his own before saying, "I promise."

 

__________

 

  Magnus gave out a dramatic, exasperated breath and shook his head, though a soft smile lingered on in face as he did so. The warlock pulled out of his boyfriend's embrace, grabbing the Shadowhunter's hand. He led them both to the newly navy blue couch and sat down, Alec's and his hand falling into Magnus' lap as he did so. He could see Alec smiling at him, that small happy, dopey smile that he only ever gave Magnus. 

 

  Magnus let out a soft sigh as his own smile grew wider. Trust Alec to figure out his question of the night before he could even start. He supposed he might have made it a bit obvious. He supposed he kind of wanted it to be. Magnus gave his boyfriend's hand a squeeze as he looked Alec in the eye.

 

"Last year, you came to me one morning wearing my shirt. You looked sinfully good and I was more than happy to fix the sizing for you, though all I wanted to do was take it off you."

 

  Alec blushed at that like despite them spending over a year together, he still couldn't believe Magnus found him attractive.

 

"Later it became one of the worst days in our relationship for me. You asked me that question, the one for which I yearned to give you the answer I didn't. I told you no, that it was too fast. It was the start of a fight, one I didn't want to have because I knew you could win. And then you found that stupid box."

 

  Alec looked to the ground, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed whatever was going on inside his head. Magnus held his hand tighter, however, and Alec gave a small squeeze back.

 

"That box, filled of happy memories of my times before you, began to simply bring me pain. We began fighting and dodging each other's texts and calls. We settled it for little bits at a time, but I think we just both grew more tense."

 

  This time is was Magnus who looked down as Alec looked up. He knew guilt would be written across his boyfriend's features. The box was a now long settled issue. One night, Magnus had gone through and told him the stories of each person and Alec had sat and simply listened. After, he had apologized profusely to Magnus, for he knew others had come before him and he knew he had no right to make Magnus feel guilty about that. Magnus was in the present, fully in this relationship with him, and the box didn't matter because he knew Magnus loved him and was loved in return.

 

"At the time, I thought it might be the end. I thought that my box might break us. I was scared that on top of Lilith and the Owl, the box and the fighting and the passive agressive comments would be a tipping point that we just couldn't handle. And then when I thought everything might be okay. . ."

 

  Magnus didn't have to finish; Alec knew what he was talking about. He vividly remembered the feel of that arrow piercing his body, the taste of blood in his mouth, and Magnus' face above him. He shifted closer to his boyfriend so their legs touched.

 

"I have lived for centuries and centuries, but that day, Alexander, that day was the worst my life. Losing you while I was so powerless to stop it. . . and you were trying to make me smile, trying to tell me you loved me. I was sitting there, covered with you blood, and I was thinking that if you died, right after everything we'd gone through, after I'd just gotten back from Edom, that I wanted to die with you. That you couldn't, _couldn't_ leave me."

 

  Magnus had never told Alec that. All the times they'd talked about it, both mentioning the helplessness, the pain they'd felt, he'd never told Alec that he wanted to die along with him. Alexander Lightwood was the love of his so very long life and he couldn't bare even the thought of him being gone. He heard Alec sniffle and knew that if he looked up, his Shadowhunter would be holding back tears that matched his own.

 

"But then you did just as you always do. You _stayed._ You stayed with me. You lived and woke up and healed and I thought my heart was going to explode. We got through the whole mess, and we made it out stronger. Then this past year has been amazing. You've been amazing. You've managed to run the Institute smoothly, recovered, helped your family, your friends, me. . . Alec, you figured out how to _get my magic back._ You made the past year so inexplicably wonderful and I want to make the next as good for you. And every year after that."

 

  Magnus took Alec's other hand, which had been resting on his knee, and look at his beautiful Nephilim. His boyfriend's hazel eyes sparkled and shone with held back tears. Magnus could see the reflection of his own golden cat eyes. Alec's smile was small and yet contained so much joy and content. Magnus couldn't help but smile back.

 

"It was two months after the day you almost died when I fully understood everything I was feeling. It only took me a day to realize that I couldn't live without you either, but two months for everything else to click. I finally realized how much I loved going to bed with you and how much I needed to wake up next to you every morning. How seeing your smile every day could immediately make everything lighter and brighter. How seeing you come out to the kitchen in my shirts made me so happy I could shout. How it was getting so much harder to let you go to the Institute at night, and how much I hated not seeing you walk through the door because you were going to sleep there. I realized how much time I spent wishing you were here, wishing this loft wasn't so empty. I realized how much I wished you were living with me. I waited this long after to ask because you had been so focused on everything else going on this year, still recovering, that I just kept waiting for the right time. But I told you once that you needed to _make_ time for the things you cared about. So today, a year after you asked to move in with me, it's my turn."

 

  Magnus slipped off the couch and onto one knee in front of Alec, who had let a tear fall onto his cheek and into his smile. Magnus pulled a hand away from his boyfriend's and gave a wave, blue sparking as a small black box appeared in it. Magnus opened it to reveal a shiny, new, gold key.

 

"Alexander Lightwood, will you move in with me?"

 

  Alec laughed his beautiful laugh as he began nodding.

 

"Yes. Yes, you ridiculous, overdramatic warlock. Yes."

 

  Magnus laughed as well, surging up to capture Alec's lips with his own. He felt his boyfriend's hands curl into his hair as his own made their way to Alec's waist, dropping the box with the key onto the floor. When they pulled away to breath, Alec pushed his body into Magnus', hugging him tightly.

 

"I love you."

 

"I love you, too, darling. More than you will ever know."

 

  Alec had his face tucked into Magnus' neck as the simply held each other. A few minutes had passed before Magnus felt Alec begin shaking ever so softly with small laughter. Magnus pulled back and raised an eyebrow in question. Alec just smiled and shook his head lightly.

 

"You were talking about _me_ ruining things, but then you went and did the same thing."

 

Magnus frowned in confusion, "What do you mean, Alexander?"

 

"Well, how the hell am I supposed to top that?"

 

"Top that? What are you talking about?"

 

  Alec just smiled wider and placed a quick kiss on Magnus' lips.

 

"How am I supposed to propose to you someday knowing I have that speech to compete with?" Alec murmured softly, keeping his face close to Magnus.

 

  Magnus felt himself bark out a laugh and his frown melted into a wide smile. When he looked into Alec's eyes, he saw nothing but sincerity and love. The love he felt for this man and the love he knew was returned so deeply could knock Magnus off his feet if he stared too long. The idea of marriage, especially marriage to Alec, didn't scare him. It didn't make him want to close in on himself, to search through his 800 years of never settling down. Instead, it made him happy.

 

  Magnus leaned in and just before their lips could touch, he whispered, "I'm sure you'll figure it out."

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my sequel, "Lost Breaths, Beating Hearts, and Tingling Skin": https://archiveofourown.org/works/17253644


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